>> hello there. i'm he barbara serra. this is the news hour live from london. chuck glazer blazer admits to accepting bribes. nigerian military is accused of killing 7,000 people in its fight against boko haram. and heavy fighting breaks out in ukraine since the february cease-fire began. and the murder of a

14-year-old girl sparks protest in argentina over the rise in violence against women. and i have all the day sports. the king of clay says good by, roger nadal is knocked out by djokovic in the quarterfinal. >> evidence that helped lead to the arrest of seven other fifa officials and the resignation of sepp blatter. chuck blazer admits taking bribes in connection with the 1998 and 2010 world cup won by france and south africa representedly. he pleaded guilty to a number of corruption charges and it is believed he became an informant to the fbi. well he specifically admits

that i and other on the fifa executive economy agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 cup and agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of south africa as the host nation for the 2010 world cup. he has been key to this investigation. now week clearly see why he admits to accepting bribes for two world cups. >> absolutely. this man for many years, up until 2013, was the highest ranking u.s. official in fifa. he served on the executive committee and was the executive general for concacaf during that time he was lining his pockets to bribes and kickbacks

totaling millions of dollars. here in new york one of the places he was he owned in the can rainan. it was his lifetime, he had a place for himself and a place for his cats. he was caught pled guilty in a statement that was released stay he became a corroborating witness with the united states government and investigators and his testimony and the information that he has provided has led to these other indictments, as you mentioned. >> we're looking at a document

here. one thing i didn't find was any reference to other world cups because of course the fbi is now opening an investigation is looking into the bidding process that led to the awarding of world cups in 2018 and 2022. and there is no mention of those here? >> that is correct. one of the reasons that media companies. petitioned the judge to release that information is that they were looking for that information. is there any naming of seth bladder. is he named at all by chuck blazer. is there any talk of these world cup processes. there are redacted portions because the judge agreed with the u.s. government that it would impact this ongoing investigation. that information may be in this

document but we do get a clearer picture from this document and other documents that we have here. this was a binder given to the media last week when the indictments were announced. this is just the public information. there is so much private information that we have not seen yet. but looking at this we see how blazer was connected with jack warner and some of the details coming out is just stunning. he is accused of taking $1 million from morocco in the bid to win the 2010 world cup. and then taking another $10 million from south africa, who eventually did win the world cup. this is jack warner we're talking about now. and then the deal was that blazer would get $1 million of that $10 million from the south african payment. these are all allegations to this partnership but point but

these are the is is salacious pieces of information coming out. >> kristen was talking about that $10 million paid by south africa to fifa. south africa denied that that money was paid to fifa officials in 2010 was actually a bribe. the sports minister said that the payment to jack warner was quote, above board but he didn't know what mr. warner then did with the money. >> the payment of $10 million u.s. was made to an approved program above board does not equate to bribery. those who alleged should prove their allegations. we refuse to be caught up in the battle of the united states authorities and fifa. we've never been spokespersons

for fifa and do not intend to speak in behalf of fifa. fifa has to speak for itself. >> well, the the 2018 award to russia and the 2011 award to qatar in zurich sepp blatter received an a standing ovation from staff. >> if this was the first day of a new life for fifa you wouldn't know it. there was a mixed used game in the grounds suggesting the kind of supporting purity fifa's critics say vanished years ago. >> seth blatter's announcement

against several figures from the americans that question is not as clear as the decision as those countries that supported him and those who hated him. >> we know that the $45 million spent by was a waste because of a corrupt and tainted bidding process. >> it was a decision that should have been made given what was surrounding it. look i'm not in blatter's shoes but i do say that it was a choice that he should run. >> itand who should replace blatter?

michel plantini perhaps or prince ali of jordan. they believe that someone with a true global significance perhaps the previous head of the united nations kofi annan should act as a control figure to offer reassurance to everybody. >> we made a proposal back in january that there was a the creation and implementation of an independent reform committee and that needs to be led by an emanant person such as someone like mitt romney. mitt romney took over the of the ioc in salt lake city and did well there.

>> of course none of this is going to be resolved quickly. the question is whether it's actually possible. laurence lee al jazeera. >> well, the former french international footballer, confirmed he would stand to be candidate for fifa's next president. he called forceps blatter's resignation as a new start for fifa. >> you take responsibility. you are responsible for everything done, all the decisions made, made within fifa and that's probably why they decided to resign. but he said i would stay until march or april of next year i think it would stand hopefully

with democracy in it. the three key words i said back in january when i stood for presidency. transparently democracy for the next election. and as i side it would start as a new adventure for fifa. >> amnesty international is accuseing nigerian military of committing war crimes while fighting boko haram. the report said that 7,000 men and boys tied in might detention, and 20,000 men and buys including nine-year-olds were arrested under suspicion of being boko haram members were

tortureed. but the nigerian military denies the report. >> these are secret communiques obtained by amnesty international. >> the report names nine military commanders. the commanders also accused of committing or presiding beatings mass torture and starvation. as the report was presented to reporters in abuja amnesty international said that it interviewed more than 400 victims and witnesses. it says that more than 800 official documents were submitted along with 90 pieces of evidence that crimes were committed. sources were not made. amnesty reject suggestions that

many of the dead were boko haram fighters. >> one thing that we talk about in our report is the fact that many of these arrests are arbitrary. they would go in and round up all of the young men and pass them in front of a hidden pointer, someone who the military is paying saying yes or no you are a member of boko haram. >> military commanders have responded that the amnesty report is completely false and bias and they say that the red cross and other independent bodies have inspected detention cells in northern nigeria. some analysts say that nigerian troops have fought boko haram in difficult circumstances.

>> amnesty international has handed over its report to nigeria's new president muhhamadu buhari. amnesty is demanding the new crime. before he was elected he promised to investigate the allegations. the question now is will he and when? al jazeera abuja nigeria. >> during his sift no niger the nigerian president repeated his promise to defeat boko haram. gliff years of the evil presence of the sect is enough. nigerian soldiers have suffered

defeat but it's not the time to criticize. the neighboring countries we're going to sit down and define a common strategy. >> a a bomb hack exploded in nigeria killing four people and injuring 33 others. it has went off 600 meters where bombings have killed 80 people in the last few days. well anthony goldman is a nigerian analyst. he join us, can i ask you later about this idea that the new president has moving troops around but first i want to focus on the amnesty international report. shocking 7,000 men and boys have died in military detention. are you surprised by the report and the scale of what is alleged? >> i think that there is an

issue that human rights abuses have been committed by the my jeeran military is going to be obscured and diluted by sub substantiateed relating to numbers. it's a very difficile to get the scale exactly what happens and the scale of abuses. i think there are any surprises of how these people with within cared for and the number of people abused in detention facilities. i think there is a danger to be sucked into a numbers game about who has been doing what to whom and how they've been killed. amnesty international has been chasing headlines that an secures the real issues of what's going on.

>> it would argue that this is a real issue to have human rights abuses against children. and they've spoken with witnesses and senior members of the military. that what they say to substantiate this report. >> yes. >> is it the number of 7,000. >> i think it's very difficult to have a clear view of the numbers and it's redundant to get involved whether it's 700 7,000 or 70,000. there is a real issue in fighting an asystemmic war that's someone who has no value values, and sometimes killing women and children, blowing up stores marketplaces, mosques and churches, and i think this creates very real pressures on not-well trained troops who are operating under difficult circumstances. >> amnesty is calling for some

senior commanders to be prosecuted. you wouldn't want to see, do you innocent that that would be helpful in the situation? >> the icc is a proper situation that operates on evidence. that's one thing to produce a report and then put it's another to put together a case for the icc. >> this handed on the desk of buhari who was not in office when this is alleged to have taken place. do you see that as a move embodiening the army with the help of niger and chad. >> the president has said he wants to get more effective nigerian units into the front

line. it's certainly also true that there are other troops from the region from niger and cameroon and chad are linked to atrocities. it is a very difficult and brutal war to fight. he always said that he felt that it was a shame that it was having to rely on neighboring states to deal with problems at home when clearly there is a regional dynamic of what is happening. boko haram has people operating outside of nigeria's borders. >> thank you for share area views with us. now coming up in this news hour burning ballots in mexico. find out why students are demanding a boycott of this weekend's vote. families protest over the crews ships thatcruisecruise

ship that sunk in china. ukrainian forces and pro-russian fighters have fought their first serious battles in more than three months. the rebels tried to take the sound of mariynka but were. the separatists accuse government troops of fighting at rebel territory. they say electricity supplies have been cut off trapping hundreds of miners underground. we have more now from moscow. >> we can only be described as a warring escalation of violence in eastern ukraine. the ukrainian army accusing separatists launching what it describes as a large scale assault against government troops around maryinka. it said that separatist fighters

used ten tanks and up to a thousand men in that attack. ukrainian army said it was forced to use heavy weaponry to dispel the attack. it says it's very worried about what it says is the shelling civilian areas in donetsk and around the region. now the fighters, the separatists themselves deny that they started this fight today. they say that a number of civilians were killed in it, and a number of fighters, too there are also reports that hundreds of miners were trapped underground, and it's reported that there are intelligently going efforts to try to rescue these men in mines that stopped electricity in.

and there are concerns for patients in hospitals who had to be evacuated because electricity was down. they try to forge a peace agreement in eastern ukraine. >> rallies to highlight the violence against women are currently taking place across argentina. these are the latest pictures of the demonstration of buenos aires. the country has been shocked by the number of women killed by their partners. one won was killed by her estranged husband in front of her class. we're live now from buenos aires buenos aires. unfortunately everywhere around the world violence against women is nothing new. why are we getting so much focus on this issue in argentina right

now? >> well, i think its just as you mentioned, the one of the 1-year-old girl who was killed by her 16-year-old boyfriend. really kind of shocked the nation. there were tweets, messages being sent around the country. and it's something that really seems to upset people here. not just the women's groups but right across society. rich and old young and old women and men, they are all marketing around argentina. it's really a combination of all of these events that 2,000 women have been killed in the last seven years by their partners in these high profile cases in the last few days. >> a march like that is increasing awareness of the issue. but when it comes to the legal aspect have laws been changed to perhaps try and make women

safer? >> they have in the last two or three years. a whole number of laws have been put on the statute books. so there is very little people are criticizing with the laws that are in place. what they are criticizing is the implementation of those laws. and they're talking about society with judges far too lenient with the offenders police not investigating crimes against women. they're calling for laws to be put in place to be more stringently implemented in the face of this growing problem. >> thank you. some groups are calling for a boycott of a vote and some set

fire to ballot. protesters have been fighting against the vote. just explain to us why are people so upset about these specific elections? >> well, they've lost trust over the recent peter not just the ruling party. but the other two major parties and really the epicenter of this is in guerrero in southwestern mexico. last year 43 students there had disappeared. and the local police and local mayor were implicated in that disappearance. that has called on people especially in that state to say we haven't really got conditions right now to have elections. we've got a completely corrupt political class in this state. they're calling for a boycott of the elections. that seems to have spread and

influenced other parts of the country. in eight states the local media were reporting yesterday had problems in their electoral including the mass burning of ballot papers and molotov cocktails being thrown. we're not talking about an isolated case but civil discontent around the country. >> civil discontent against the elections in general but also attacks on specific candidates in the elections. tell us more about that. >> yes there are calls in different situations one of the major parties said that they slated there had been 43 acts of violence against activists in this election. and one candidate could not

leave his village because he had been warned that there was an ambush waiting for him to kill him another candidate had just been killed. this situation seems to come as well because in mexico politics and organized crime there are links between the two. one security analyst that is well respected and well-connected that i was talking to the other day say that often this is a case of a candidate being linked to one local gang or criminal group and another criminal group wanting to take out that candidate and put in someone of their own charge. at the moment the rule of law is shaky, to say the least we're seeing a lot of this time of violence unfortunately. >> with the latest from mexico city, thank you.

well still ahead this hour as isil captures yet another more ground, it is explained how they could be stopped. plus we're out on the front line of the military crisis. and in sport it's rafael benitez for real madrid. find out why the spanish manager club went for a homegrown manager. blank just because i'm away from my

desk doesn't mean i'm not working. comcast business understands that. their wifi isn't just fast near the router. it's fast in the break room. fast in the conference room. fast in tom's office. fast in other tom's office. fast in the foyer [pronounced foy-yer] or is it foyer [pronounced foy-yay]? fast in the hallway. i feel like i've been here before. switch now and get the fastest wifi everywhere. comcast business. built for business.

>> a reminder of the top stories on al jazeera. u.s. prosecutors have unsealed court documents in which former fifa executive chuck blazer admits that he and others took bribes over the 1998 and 2010 world cups won by france and south africa. thenigerian military has denied a report by amnesty international alleging the killing ofer 7,000.

ukraineyou in ukraine battle resumes in the east after the cease-fire in february. in iraq a the view of general john allen the u.s. envoy to the international and anti-isil coalition. >> isil fighters capture a village on the outskirts of aleppo. they say that they are determined to expand their. the group controls huge areas

stretching from mosul to anbar in iraq and villages villages in aleppo in northern syria. the former u.s. general in charge of coordinating global efforts to defeat isil knows that taking on isil or daesh arrest it is known in the arab world, is not easy. >> daesh is not an iraqi problem. it is not an syrian problem. it is a regional problem trending towards global implications. >> the international alliance was formed after isil fighters swept through the city of mosul last year. the coalition launched airstrikes against isil and iraq and syria but it's ultimate goal is to help iraqi security forces come to isil, train isil's financial resources. prevent foreign fighters were crossing into syria and iraq, undermine isil's propaganda

machine. in iraq isil took advantage of the growing frustration of sunni muslims with the shia led government to recruit more fighters. >> we have to ask ourselves why daesh have more than 30% of its members while in syria it's 20% syrian. why are people are not supporting but accepting? they were suffering for years and years from a sectarian government. >> for the time being fighting is escalating in iraq and syria. two countries divided along sectarian lines. it false into the hands of isil. >> in syria 20 people have reportedly been killed and several others injured in barrel bomb attacks by government services outside of aleppo. thejordan is sheltering 600,000

syrian who is have threat the war. it was built to accommodate 100,000 of them. we have reports where there are lots empty cabins. >> an unhealthy environment for two sick children. they have a rare defect that develops in into cancer when exposed to the sun. aid agencies don't cover the medication. i'm stuck here with no money and no job. i can't go back, and i don't need to explain why. >> they have plenty of empty space because it appears the jordanian government has slowed the refugees crossing the

border. the refugees homes have no electricity. the camp has been harder to fill because it's remote and desolate. aid agencies say more than 40,000 refugees have been brought here in the last year. but more than half of them have left. right now just over 18,000 people live here. six months ago they left the camp on a two-week travel permit never to return again. she's now living in the northern city struggling without food vouchers or assistance. she said she'd rather live on the street than go back. >> it's too hot there and my children were getting sick too often. i didn't feel safe. at night i heard people around my home. i wouldn't shower because there were men and women i didn't know. the camp is not suitable for humans. aid agencies think those who fled to go to other towns will

return. >> they'll come back because we provide services and they will come back. >> since the beginning of this year assistance was cut for refugees living outside camps. refugees think the government's new policy is designed to force syrians to live only in official government-run camps where they are likely to be living for years to come. >> let's go to yemen where coalition airstrikes have been targeting the capital of sanaa. aircraft is said to struck a factory. while in southern yemen an attempt by houthi rebels in the suburbs in aden have been

repelled by forces loyal top exiled president abd rabbuh mansur hadi. rockets were fired in israel from near the gaza border. warning sirens were heard but no injuries have been reported and no groups in gaza have claimed responsibility. rescuers in china have gun cutting into the hull of a capsized cruise ship. only 14 people have been saved since the ship sank on monday. adrian report sends us this report. >> on a day of fading hopes the chinese government is throwing what it can at this rescue operation. more than 5,000 emergency workers so for have been deployed. on tuesday they heard yells for help coming from within the up turned hull. nothing sense. the most dangerous work has been under taken by divers, operating

in the strong currents swirling around the eastern star. this is reportedly the last glimpse of the vessel recorded by a security camera. access to the site remains blocked by police and paramilitary troops. on wednesday the government organized a boat trip to the rescue area for foreign and chinese journalists. the message the operation will continue if there is even a slight chance someone's alive. >> the focus of the operation is to try to find--the government has promised an investigation into why the eastern star sank so quickly. but it's clear what happened here on monday night is turning into the country's worst maritime accident in recent times. >> state media say that the vessel was hit by a soy clone and capsized within two minutes. still unexplained though, is how the captain and chief engineer both survived.

relatives of the missing are demanding answers as well, and try to stage a demonstration in shanghai. this city where many of the mostly elderly passengers are from. even at a time like this such protests are illegal. for now they're not allowed to visit the rescue site either. so some go further up stream to grieve by the river's edge. >> adrian brown al jazeera, and southern china. >> more than 700 migrants found drifting in a crowded boat off the coast of myanmar had disembarked in rahkin state where most of the persecuted are a hinn irohingya live. in efforts to repatriate the

migrants on its shores they went out on the water with italian military police to see the migrant crisis from the front line. >> it took 15 hours to reach this part of the mediterranean sea. we are 14 miles from the coast of libya in international waters waters. weather conditions are good enough. the crew have no doubt that somewhere in the vast blue there are helpless migrants. it's just a matter of finding them. the camera combs the water. and here they are. the commander says there are two boats in the area. as we approach the closest one it becomes clear that the rubber dinghy is over crowd: 124 people are packed in the small

ten-meter space. they have been at sea for at least eight hours. >> they're saying that they left at 6:00 in the morning and the skipper abandoned them. they have no more water. now, the reason we came on this dinghy is because the water sea is slightly rough so they would rather escort the dinghy to the main vessel then actually bring the vessel, which can create a bit more waves. they can panic and then it can capsize. it's a delicate maneuver. slowly pushing the fragile vessel towards the ship. the migrants don't know how to swim. they're tired. some of them suffer scabies horse are dehydrated. the crew need to act quickly. language can often be a barrier. some ask to help.

in arabic i pass on the message. they are safe but they need to sit down and above all stay calm. the first one off is the only child on board. [ screaming and yelling ] at times it's a juggle for the the--at times it's a struggle for the rescuers. the last one off was this man who has a broken leg. he had been lying at the bottom of the dinghy. it's plywood soaked, and the water is seeping in. a little longer they would have all sank. eight nautical miles northeast the second rubber dinghy desperately trying to send out a distress signal. here there are 110 somalis. they have little fuel but it would not have been enough to reach the closest coast.

the engine had broken down so they were floating aimlessly. there are many women here. some are pregnant. they have been in the water for around 20 hours. everyone is exhausted and frightened. their legs are numb. some need to be held. others lifted. a little over at hour 234 people were saved. the crew is also tired but proud that yet again they saved lives. the people here are hungry but they can't eat yet. the sea is getting rougher and they could get sick if they had food. in the meantime, they fall into a deep sleep. the first rest without fear in a very long time. al jazeera murder sea. >> oil prices are have fallen nearly 40% in the last year. ministers of the organization of

petroleum of exporting countries will meet again. officials from iraq, angola and venezuela have agreed that $80 is a fair price for a barrel of crud oil but there is concern among venezuelans that it may be too low for their oil-dependent economy. we have reports from caracas. >> the first to stand in line for hours to find the basic of food items. they are unlikely to pay attention to friday's opec meeting. yet, so much, if not all of the oil-rich nation's future is hinged on whether production cuts are agreed on this week's meeting. >> if oil price gas up or down i don't know how that effects us. what effects me is the situation the country is in. a country so rich in resources and we depend on oil for everything. you have to spend your life in a line to find meat, coffee, even toilet paper? >> while other-producing

countries have weathered the price drop from $100 to almost half, venezuela has been among the hardest hit. but oil prices may not be solely to blame for venezuela's faltering economy. >> the financial crisis in venezuela comes not only as a result of the drop in oil prices but rather failing to save during the times of bonanza. venezuela went on a never-ending feast. >> in the 1960s opec would protect oil prices. it was a crucial player for years. some even credit hugo chavez for being behind the high prices but now they have lost all their leverage. despite nicolás maduro's intense efforts to improve oil prices saudi arabia and iran and iraq are looking to increase

production. even under ever after an unprecedented wind fall venezuela has been unable to tap into the oil resource. yet president nicolás maduro remains confident that his country will with stand the current oil prices. >> even if it drops to zero, no one will stop venezuela. we've recovered a little bit of the price little by little. >> with experts predicting oil prices setting at $60 a barrel venezuelans are no closer to ending the lines and then returning home empty handed. >> still ahead, one of sepp blatter's biggers biggest supporters fights back.

nd android mobile device. download it now >> and now here is sport. sana. fighting back against the allegations. >> yes allegation also no go away. fifa secretary said he will not step down. and that he's not guilty of any corrupt practice under the investigation by u.s. authorities. the ongoing crisis has shaken football's governing body to its occur. sepp blatter's given his resignation. well our sports correspondent

lee wellings has more on the election of a new fifa president. >> we're talking about a situation in march next year only then we might have a new fifa president. there is a lot of time for candidates to be involved, if it's the right thing for them, if they think they can win. the uefa president michel platini, it was always thought he would take over for blatter. and he's backed by prince ali. will there be a deal between prince ali and michel platini becomes the man backed by that group of people and prince ali takes a backseat in a back ground job. he said he's interested in just saving football, but does that

mean he'll only go for the presidency. will others come back into it. we need to be careful about the merits of the likes of former footballers. >> controversy surround corruption in fifa has overshadowed one of its show piece events, which is under way in new zealand and the under-20 world cup. we have reports from hamilton. >> these are dark days. the wintery conditions for the under 20 world cup are the least of organization concerns. fans are coming to watch but sepp blatter is what everyone is talking about. >> yes he's corrupt. all of them are corrupt. there is no two ways about it. >> i think it was a game in the

future. >> this tournament is supposed to be all about showcasing bids. but instead all the attention has been on the other side of the world those who were charged in running the game. >> although members of fifa have re-elected me as president this mandate does not seem to be supported by everyone in the world of football. supporters clubs players those who inspire love in football. >> re-elected for a fifth term as president only on friday. accept blatter is supposed to be come together latter stages of this tournament, but that seems unlikely now. and even the host of this tournament new zealand football is not keen on hosting him. if he comes it will be awkward on many front given that many

officials are happy that he resigned. >> we shouldn't have gone through the charade of the election on friday. everyone could see the writing on the wall. >> ticket sales for this game between qatar and portugal were less than expected but that is mover to do with the more to do with the weather. but future fans may not look so well upon the game. >> whoever is the next president to have the job of cleaning up fifa and rebuilding it's image that's something that the international olympic committee had to do after ref aggravations that officials received bribes from the salt lake city organizing committee to host the host 2002 olympic games. >> they need to own up to the scandal.

they need to take control of the narrative. they need to be the leader in arriving with the reform process, the changes that need to take place in fifa, not be backed into it by foreign governments, by the sponsors and by other influences outside of fifa. fifa has got to own up to the problem and come up with a solution and drive drive the reform process. >> in other football news rafael benitez is the new coach of real madrid. the former boss announced his departing from the italian side. following the game on sunday. he'll behe will he has been signed for the next three seasons. >> i think the quality has to be

the offensive. we'll see which player becomes the striker. >> he said he was overjoyed to take over one of the top teams in german. he has big shoes to fill. >> to the french open ten now. djokovic has ended rafael nadal nadal's run. nadal fought back only to lose the opening set 7-5. from there on the world number one was in charge as he took the

next two sets 6-3 and 6-1. >> the entire match went really well for me, and it's definitely a big win. it's a match that i will remember for a long time. >> like i always accepted the defeats and the only thing is there is only one sure thing i want to work harder than before to come back stronger. >> djokovic will play andy murray in the semifinals. the first set went to a tie break which he won at 7-4. he would win four sets. mistaking it 15 consecutive wins on clay. in the women's serena williams reaches the semifinal. the top-seeded american seeking

her 20th grand slam title proved too powerful for her italian opponent. she required 27 minutes to take the first set 6-1,1, williams was too strong taking it 6-3 to make the semifinals. a semifinal meeting set up with serena bacsinsky was the third swiss woman to reach this. that's it for me. >> thank you very much for that. there's lots more in everything we've been covering on our website. stick with us if you can. i'll be back in just a few minutes with more of the day's news. we'll have the latest on those fifa allegations. i hope you'll join us then.

>> chuck blazer admits to taking primes for bribes. i'm barbara serra. also coming up on the program. nigeria's military rejects accusations that it killed more than 7,000 people in its fight against boko haram. heavy fighting breaks out in ukraine since the february cease-fire began. >> we're out on the